Obligations of mobile broadband coverage in 480 parishes

The deadline for achieving compliance with the broadband coverage obligations to which MEO - Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia, NOS Comunicações and Vodafone Portugal - Comunicações Pessoais were made subject, following the allocation of rights of use of frequencies in the 800 MHz band, expired on 10 March 2017.

In accordance with these obligations, operators were required to provide coverage of 480 parishes lacking mobile broadband within a period of 6 months (50% of parishes) and 1 year (100% of parishes) following the end of existing technical restrictions on the operation in the 800 MHz frequencies, i.e. no later than 10 September 2016 and 10 March 2017, respectively.

At a first level, this process entailed accomplishing the geographical scope of these obligations, through the selection of 160 parishes by each operator from the list of 480 parishes previously identified by ANACOM as tending to lack mobile broadband coverage. The second level entails accomplishing the speed of data transmission associated with the mobile broadband service to be made available by each operator.